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The Power in a Photo

In The Conversation, David Brooks and Gail Collins talk between columns every Wednesday.

Pete Souza/The White HousePresident Obama with members of his national security team as they received updates on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House.

David Brooks: Gail, I think it was Karl Marx who said that all great events happen twice, first as the event and then as the packaging. We’re finished with the killing of Osama bin Laden, now we are having a debate about the presentation of the event.

Gail Collins: I believe Marx made that remark at the premier of “Das Kapital VI: The Proletariat Take Vegas.”

David Brooks: The White House has just announced that it will not release the photo of the dead Bin Laden. Six months ago this would have been an easy call and obviously the right one. But if it takes the release of the birth certificate to quiet conspiracy theories in this country, maybe it will take a photo of a bullet wound in the terror leader’s head to quiet conspiracy theories in the febrile regions of the Middle East.

Gail Collins: I kind of think that if you show conspiracy theorists a photo of the dead Bin Laden they will come up with an explanation for why it’s really a Photoshoped picture of Bin Laden asleep. Or his dead cousin Fred. Donald Trump apparently believes that Bin Laden is dead, so that ought to be enough for the Middle East.

Arif Ali/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWas the White House right to not release a photo of the dead Osama bin Laden?

David Brooks: In the end, this is probably not a subject people like me should be passing judgment on. I assume the administration discussed this with a wide range of Muslim leaders and radical Islamicists, and decided that releasing the photo would dishonor the dead in the eyes of the devout.

Gail Collins: This is why I’m never going to be president. I was actually worried about whether the picture would frighten little kids who happened to be walking by the TV or newsstand when bullet-in-the-head photos were on display.

David Brooks: Did you notice, by the way, that the Palestinian leadership was among those most angered by the killing? Bin Laden lost popularity in many parts of the Arab world, but he remained popular among Palestinians. I noticed that Hamas condemned the killing and called Bin Laden a holy warrior. Does it really seem possible that Israel, under any leadership, is going to be able to cut a deal with people who revere Bin Laden?

Gail Collins: The whole point of getting serious peace negotiations going is to give the Palestinian people the hope that if they opt for the moderate leadership in the West Bank, they’ll be rewarded with a viable country of their own. If you say that the leadership in Gaza is awful and, therefore, we are never going to negotiate with the Palestinians in good faith, then you play into the hands of the crazy people.

The posture of the president in the Situation Room photo, perched on a low chair off to the side, is fascinating.

David Brooks: The other photo I’ve been fascinated by is the one of the president’s security team gathered in the White House Situation Room. The first thing the photo illustrates is that whenever we disagree with an office holder, we should all nonetheless pay them a large dose of respect. Presidents and others make these horrific decisions that could lead to death and suffering for people thousands of miles away, and then they sit passively far removed from the action, hoping that things turn out right.

On a human level I’m struck by the varied emotions etched on people’s faces. I can read nothing on Bob Gates’s face or even Joe Biden’s, whereas Obama, Denis McDonough and John Brennan look tense. Hilary Clinton’s face is the most riveting, a mixture of anxiety, dread and concern. I suspect most people will relate to her expression.

Gail Collins: Did they have to pick the one where Hillary had her hand over her mouth? The secretary of state doesn’t need to prove her toughness, but it would be nice if the definitive photo didn’t show the only woman in the room looking stricken.

David Brooks: The second thing the photo shows is how small the room is. In the movies, executive decisions are made in big, Roman Empire type rooms. But the White House is an early 19th century kind of place. It does all it can to humble the people who work there with its smallness, at least in the work areas.

The posture of the president is fascinating. Instead of occupying the power chair in the center of the table, he is perched on a low chair off the side, hunched over looking tense. If you just looked at this picture, you might think that Joe Biden was president or Bill Daley, who is standing behind looking imposing and grave. You’d think Obama was a midlevel aide.

It would be nice if the definitive photo didn’t show the only woman in the room looking stricken.

Gail Collins: The president really did put all his chips on the line. These are the kind of moments we elected him for — we knew from the financial crisis that when all hell breaks loose, he doesn’t lose his cool.

But he’s also lucky. People partly make their own fortunes, but I wonder if he’d have had the confidence to take such a huge gamble if he didn’t believe innately that he’s the kind of guy fortune favors.

Meanwhile, our report says Biden was fingering his rosary beads. Luck is good, but the Blessed Virgin Mary is better.

David Brooks: In the case of Obama’s perch in the Situation Room, I think what happened is this: some sort of communication or technical relay had to be done, so the president got out of his chair and relinquished it to Brig. Gen. Brad Webb, who is the assistant commanding general of the Joint Special Operations Command. The president just slid over to the low chair off to the side, which one of the standers must have relinquished.

Still, I wonder how many White Houses would have been confident enough to release a photo with the president looking so diminutive. I think it speaks well of Obama and the administration that they released this as the iconic image of the decision-making process behind the event.

Gail Collins: They wouldn’t have released it if they hadn’t won. And isn’t it interesting how big a deal this was? Bin Laden wasn’t all that central to the terrorist network any more, but taking him down created a kind of national catharsis. It’s been a really, really long time since we had something to celebrate that didn’t involve a sports team. I’d rather it had been a non-death-related occasion, but we’ll take what we can get.